The Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference (GRITC) returns to Mobile, Alabama this July—and we’re bringing a boatload of playful tricks for teaching and learning to the event to inspire, equip, and energize educators for the school year ahead.
I’m incredibly honored to serve as the 2025 GRITC keynote speaker and lead four breakout sessions on opening day. From bold ideas to classroom-ready strategies, these sessions will showcase the power of playful pedagogy, innovative instruction, and hands-on learning rooted in Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
What is GRITC?
Hosted by the Baldwin County Education Coalition (BCEC), GRITC has become the Gulf Coast’s premiere summer conference for K-12 educators. With more than 1,000 attendees, 75+ presenters, and 150+ sessions, this three-day event brings together teachers and administrators from every grade level and content area.
What sets GRITC apart? Every session is capped at 25 participants to foster rich interaction between attendees and presenters. Sessions are practical, hands-on, and classroom-tested, with a strong emphasis on innovative tools and strategies that work.
As Executive Director Terry Burkle puts it:
“Our teachers are on the front lines every day changing the lives of our children. It’s important that we invest in them and equip them with the professional development and resources they need to be the best they can be.”
Find Me at GRITC
In addition to delivering Monday’s opening keynote address, I’ll be presenting four unique sessions throughout the day. Each session is fast-paced, interactive, and designed to spark real transformation in classrooms of all shapes and sizes.
Here’s a look at the day’s lineup:
10:00 AM – Beat the Bot: Alternative Assessments That Rock & Roll
Explore how to design engaging, student-centered assessments that move beyond multiple-choice and embrace creativity, critical thinking, and performance-based tasks.
12:00 PM – Classroom Survivor: Tools to Outwit, Outplan, and Outlast the A.I. Blindside
This session dives into the rapidly evolving landscape of AI in education—and equips teachers with practical strategies to stay ahead of the curve without losing their classroom culture.
1:00 PM – That’s What ChatGPT Said: Authentic Engagement in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
A deep dive into how AI tools like ChatGPT can support instruction while preserving human connection, student voice, and authentic learning experiences.
2:00 PM – Kiss Kahoot Goodbye: Building Better Review Games
Ditch the default and discover dynamic, strategic review game formats that go beyond trivia and promote deeper thinking, team play, and lasting learning.
For change-minded educators from throughout the great state of Alabama, GRITC is a bold investment in the power of teachers to change lives, and a powerful reminder that professional learning can be both fun and transformational.
Whether you’re exploring ways to incorporate AI, rethinking assessment, or looking to bring more engagement into your instruction, these sessions are built to give you the tools, resources, and confidence to hit the ground running in the new school year.
The presentations featured in this blog post will feature a selection of the 1000+ resources available and on their way to arrive shortly in the EMC² Learning library. This entire library is available to all members with an active Engagement Engineer or Engagement Engineer PLUS account, and is included with your annual site membership. We hope you’ll consider joining us as an Engagement Engineer to unlock a full year of site access. For complete details including our exclusive limited time offer for annual site membership, click here.
